About Books: Akron publisher to release collection of over-the-road poems

Thursday

Jan 9, 2014 at 10:00 AM

The writer of the verse is both a poet and a truck driver. The two vocations meet in a collection published recently by University of Akron Press, "A Poet Drives a Truck: Poems by and about Lowell A. Levant."

Gary Brown CantonRep.com Writing Editor-at-large @gbrownREP

The writer of the verse is both a poet and a truck driver. The two vocations meet in a collection published recently by University of Akron Press, "A Poet Drives a Truck: Poems by and about Lowell A. Levant."

Levant's mentor, Pulitzer Prize winning author Gary Snyder, notes that the book exhibits " ... the complex depth of his writing about work, machinery, trucks, equipment, repair, maintenance — all in a deceptively slightly befuddled voice that masks the surprising competence of what's being actually done."

The poems also offer evidence of three more qualities of Levant's work: being in touch with nature, showing an interest in music, and having the same free-associative style as the beat poets of the author's youth.

Levant was born in St. Paul, Minn., but studied in California and was a conscientious objector for the Vietnam War, instead performing alternate service.

"A Poet Drives a Truck" is $14.95 in paperback and $9.99 as an electronic book.

AUTHOR APPEARANCE

Australian young adult author Chris Morphew visited North Canton Middle School earlier this week to speak to students in grades 6 to 8.

Morphew is known for his six-book young adult series, "The Phoenix Files," whose volumes are science fiction works.

The author's stop in North Canton was part of a three-week tour of the United States during which Morphew talked to students in Ohio, Washington, and Alabama.

Visit chrismorphew.com for information about his books.

NEW RELEASE

The History Press has published "Legends and Lost Treasure of Northern Ohio," by Wendy Koile. The book will be released Tuesday.

According to the publisher, the book includes tales of sunken ships and lost spoils of war.

Koile is a native of Ohio, who previously published "Geneva on the Lake: A History of Ohio's First Summer Resort. She teaches at Zane State College, a two-year technical school in Zanesville.